Army of Flanders

The Army of Flanders was Spain's standing army in the Spanish Netherlands, existing from 1567 to 1706. The army was created in 1567 when a wave of iconoclasm broke out in the Netherlands, and King Philip II of Spain saw fit to reinforce Governor Margaret of Parma's forces with more Spanish, Dutch, German, mercenary, and other Habsburg troops. The Army of Flanders would fight an eight-year war against the rebel Dutch States Army in the "Dutch Revolt" of 1568-1648, and the army was sustained at huge cost. At times, its soldiers would mutiny or engage in atrocities, such as the "Spanish Fury" bloodbath in Antwerp in 1576. The army's strength rose from 10,000 in 1567 to 86,235 in 1574, and it was headquartered in Brussels, Flanders throughout its existence. The army's vast expenses would lead to the King of Spain decreasing its size after the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, and the army was formally disbanded in 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession.